Never Forget
by the Delhision
Summary: The last man on earth, and the memories that he holds.


**I would like to thank Silent Arrancar, for motivating and inspiring me to wright. I want thank anyone who took the time to read this or any of my stories I and especially those who reviewed, favorite, pm, and followed me. I would not be here if not for you, it motivates me to Wright. This may be a bit odd to you as a reader, but I want you to think about this after your done reading, I want you to realize that every single word, no matter how insignificant it appears, was carefully chosen and placed where it was for a reason. **

"Who I am, what I am, it doesn't matter. It's never mattered."

I watch from my seated position on the floor as the beautiful, majestic, blue orb grew larger and larger in the small circle window. I noticed the color straight away, I've always loved color, it reminds me of the deepest of emotions, the ones that I've never been capable of finding the perfect words to describe. The deep deep blue of the oceans, starkly contused against the light brown of the dry deserts. It's an indescribable feeling, gazing upon such beauty and not possessing the words to describe the emotions that you wish to shoat out. It's life's greatest joy and must painful torture.

The great orb grew larger and larger Coming into focus more and more, forcing the tranquil sea of endless darkness and its bright illuminating lights out of sight. I can see the white clouds that streaked across the landscape like a brushstroke over canvas. The soft green of grass, oh grass! What a simple thing to miss, so insignificant, yet so hard to go without for so long. I close my eyes and imagine myself down there, to breathe fresh air, to feel the warm Sun on my skin, to hear the wind blow through the trees. It's the simple things He ones I took for granite that I miss the most.

"Sir, oxygen levels are at 7% and dropping. There is only enough to sustain the life of one crewmember for 24 hours." A monitored female computer voice informed me, her voice didn't seem to come from one particular area, but rather from all around. I sigh aloud before answering the voice, not shifting my eyesight from the window "I know J.A.N.E., there's only one crewmember anyway." He said softly.

The crushing loneliness of my existence is horrible. I live up here alone and isolated, and I don't even get the slight comfort of insanity. I have nothing, no one to challenge me, no one to console me, no one to touch me, no one to love me. I am alone.

"Sir,…" "Just Gumball, there's no need for formalities at this point" I tell the voice. "Gumball, why did we return to Earth? Do you believe there to be a surviving faction on the planet?" she asked me, _'computers don't understand'_. I turn my head to explain to her my reasons, only to remember that she was nowhere, just some speakers and cameras in the walls. "No J.A.N.E., I don't. I'm dying. Whether I like it or not the oxygen is going to be gone soon. I just want to be close to home." I speak softly, _'I know that she's just a machine but it's still difficult to speak what I feel, wow am I insecure!_ _God, if only I had a minute to tell them all how I felt about them. Regret is an invisible dagger lodged into my heart and I can never remove it, can never get rid of the pain'_. "I do not understand, why does your death require your return to Earth?" J.A.N.E. asked me. I chuckle softly, she just doesn't understand. "Never mind my reasons J.A.N.E., it's only something to reminisce about." I explain.

I place my hands down onto the ground and push myself up, I grunt as I get up, it just occurs to me that I may have been sitting there for much too long. I walk down the small barrel shaped hallway through the ship, barely enough room to stand straight up. As I walk I pass makeshift rooms, the place I designated the living room, the kitchen, the dining room, the bed room, of course they were all just rooms, nothing else to define their purpose for himself. I pass by the cryo room, where crew would sleep for the bulk of long missions. But not only sleep, the technology of these machines were incredible, they let you revisit your memories. Relive your past.

I stop and walk backwards, back to the entrance to the door. "J.A.N.E.? How do these pods work?" I ask, eying them with a mixture of curiosity and hope. "These pods send you to sleep by giving the user a heavy sedative and then our computers moniter your brainwaves and send your consciousness into the portion of your brain were your memories reside." J.A.N.E.'s non-caring voice informed me. "Do they still work?" I ask, expecting the worst. The feminine computer voice responded in the same monotone expression as she always did, "Pods 2, 3,and 4 are unopperational sir." She informed with the dead and lifeless voice. My heart stopped, the realization, the hope, raised like a phoenix in my chest. "And pod 1?" I ask tentatively, praying to some higher being to bless me and not dash my hopes like so many times before. "Gumball, pod 1 is operational, but it is damaged. In use it will require extra electricity to operate, and the computers could stray from the memory portion of your brain and into the neighboring areas.." J.A.N.E. informed me. "J.A.N.E., how much time would I have if I used the pod?" I ask, it's a terrible feeling to not be in control. "25 hours sir." Her voiced spoke, but this time I was happy to hear it, it was the most beautiful sentence I had heard in a long long time. And for the first time in a long time, I felt hope.

I quickly jump into the pod, and activate the machine. Slowly the glass cover slid into place, enclosing me within the pod, the cool breeze of gas blowing over my body excites me, I won't have to die watching a clock! "Sir, if you sleep the time will become relative, due to your sleep." J.A.N.E. warned, her voice faded away into the distance, the gas sending me to sleep.

The first thing I notice is the feeling of the old tough threads pressing gently onto my body. I open my eyes to familiar room, but it's different. The living room is just how I remember it from how I remember it from when I was young. The plaid couch, the shag carpet, the family portraits that were scattered across the wall, they were all exactly how I remember it. I straighten myself up on the coach and dangle my feet off the side of the coach. _'Holy crap! I must be about 6 or 7 or something! I wonder which memory this is.'_

Suddenly the doorbell rings and my mother comes in from the kitchen in a hurry, she looks slightly worried, she never looked worried unless she was concerned with someone thinking less of her. I watch as she opens the door, on the other side is a ghost woman standing on the porch. "Hello!" the two woman squeal happily, before Mom turned to me "Honey you remember Mrs. Booregard from my work?" she asked me, I simply nod in response. The shyness of a 7 year old muted me, the sheer realism of these memories was incredible, Even the emotions remain the same!

"So where is she?" my mother asked the ghost woman, looking around for someone. "She's right here!" she said happily, moving out of the way to show that a ghost girt, about my age was standing behind her, just as shy as I was. "Well I've got to go, thanks again for watching Carrie Nicole!" The ghost woman shouted as she turned to leave my mother held Carrie's hand and waved, shouting goodbye to Mrs. Booregard. She closed the door and led Carrie to the coach I was sitting on. "You just wait right here with Gumball and I'll go find Lexy, ok?" she told the little girl, who nodded. My mom smiled and walked upstairs, trying to find my twin. Leaving me and Carrie alone in the room together.

We sat in silence, to awkward and shy to even look at each other. Then she ran her fingers through my fur, I jump back in surprise. We look at each other, blushing madly in embarrassment of what just happened. "I'm sorry, I just wanted to feel your fur. It's very soft, I like soft things." She spoke shyly to me. I sit silently for a moment, not daring to more an inch. Then I outstretch my arm slowly toward her, we share a smile as she moves her fingers through my fur.

"Gummy has girlfriend!" Lexy chants from the stairs. We immediately separate from each other, blushing madly.

The memory fades and the walls evaporate as a new memory takes form in my mind.

The room changed, but it was the same room as before. I was older now I could tell from the portrait hanging on the wall and by the fact that my feet now touched the ground as I dangle them off the edge of the couch. It's darker than last time, No lights were on in the house, and only by the light of the moon illuminated the room.

Utter silence filled the air, until there was a light tapping on the door. "Pst! Gumball it's me! Open up!" a voice whispered urgently from the other side of the door. I slowly get up and walk toward the door. "Carrie is that you?" I reply back in a hushed tone. "No it's Hagrid here to take you to Hogwarts, scourge it's me!" she shot buck still in a soft tone. I open the door slowly so that it doesn't creek, "I was just making sure." He said softly as Carrie floated in.

"Did you bring the movie?" I asked excitedly. Carrie showed him the case without speaking, a large grin was plastered across her face, "I swiped it from my parents collection." She said proudly. The case was titled 28 Days later, an evil grin formed on my face, my mother never allowed me to see this film. "So where are we going to watch this?" Carrie asked, it's a simple question, I guess that's why I over looked it. I stop everything that I was doing and just started to panic, how could I have been so dumb to watch a movie at midnight, not just a movie but one that I was specifically told I was not allowed to watch, and not have a plan of where to watch it? We couldn't watch it in the living room, my family might hear it. "What if we took the DVD player down to your basement?" Carrie suggested harmlessly. I wave away the thought, "No, that wouldn't work; we don't have a TV down there." I said simply. "What if we took the TV with us?" Carrie asked, expanding on her idea. That's when it hit me, that could be done, we could take it all downstairs and watch the movie, then bring it all backup afterword.

So we decided to go with her idea, and in all honesty it wasn't a bad plan, it just had one real problem with it: the TV was really fucking heavy! We both had to carry the TV, with one of us on either side, the DVD player and disc case rested neatly on top. I guess it wasn't so bad, it was an inconvenience to open and shut the door to the basement, and a difficult one at that, but we managed it. We set up the TV and DVD player in an outlet on the near side of the room, and popped in the movie.

The film terrified me from the very first scene and didn't stop from that point on. Don't get me wrong, it's a terrific movie, it just scared the shit out of me! Carrie and I sat against the cold concrete wall. I noticed that she was shivering from the cold at about midway through the movie, so I got up and went up to my room to retrieve a blanket, even though I was nearly certain that a zombie would be around every corner waiting to get me. I crept slowly and quietly into my room as to not wake Darwin and removed the blanket from my bed, then crept slowly back out of the room. But the minute that I closed the door to my bedroom I hightailed it to the basement, I was too afraid to be alone in the dark. Once I open the basement door and shut it behind me I catch my breath and try to calm down, I don't know what it was about her, but I never wanted to look uncool around her. I steady my breathing and walk downstairs with a brisk pace. I sat next to her on the ground, backs pressed against the wall, not once saying a word. I toss the blanket over the two of us, causing her to look at me funny. I stammered to find the right words as a bright red blush shone across my face, thank God it was dark. "You looked a little cold." I said simply, trying to act cool. She smiled at me and we both turned our attention back to the movie.

Hours later I awoke, it must have been 4:30 in the morning or so. I immediately panic; I've got to get the TV back upstairs before anyone notices! But before I can move to do anything I realize that Carrie had fallen asleep on my shoulder. I look over to her, she looked so peaceful, so beautiful. I brush a strand of hair out of her face, and smile. I decided not to take the TV back, the moment was too perfect to ruin. I fell back asleep, not daring to move an inch as to not disturb her.

We slept soundly til morning. "GUMBALL! WHERE'S MY TELEVISION?!" the shrill and angry voice of my mother woke us both up. We blush in embarrassment once we realize that we had slept together (no they don't think that!) and quickly move apart.

The cold walls of the basement and the tv begin to fade away, I turn to were Carrie was sitting, I saw her and time just seemed to freeze. She was sitting there, not a yard away from me, her eyes were aimed sheepishly downward, the blush that she so desperately wanted to hide was evident on her face. Her hair fell away from her face, exposing her beautiful eyes. Oh, how I wish this moment could last forever.

I'm sitting on the dock that butted up directly with the small lake in the local park. The sun was resting in that magic position, not yet night, but the day was done, the time of day that seems to hang on and last just a bit longer than it should. The cool summer breeze blew gently across my cheeks, causing the placid surface of the lake to ripple. My feet dangle over the edge, my bare toes just touching the cool water. I look to my right and see Carrie sitting there, her ghostly tail just reaching the lake as well. She looks older, I guess that means that I am too, It looks like were fourteen or so, what a feeling of youth.

"Gumball have you ever felt invisible? Like the whole world just ignores your very existence?" she asks sadly, her face falling to her usual frown. She doesn't smile much yet, I remember with a certain reminiscent sadness. She looks over to me, hoping that I had listened to her. "Yes I do, all the time." I respond softly, my voice exposing my true vulnerability. Carrie's face turns from sad to one of growing curiosity. "Really? You, Gumball Watterson, the life of every party, feels invisible?" she scoffed, thinking this was some sort of gag or joke. I look over to her somberly and nod, then I turn, I don't know why, and I gaze at the reflections in the lake's shimmering mirror.

"I don't ever feel like anyone sees me as a person, like a living breathing person. I'm just Gumball the goofball, Gumball the kid that has the silly misadventures; they see me and think 'that kid is a bumbling idiot! He doesn't mind being put down, he's too happy-go-lucky. Go ahead mock him, beat him, ridicule him, he'll just bounce back.'" I say mimicking the thoughts I presumed people thought of me. "They don't see someone who bleeds when cut, or cries when hurt, or has any plans for the future when they see me, I'm just that guy who is always smiling." I sighed, I could feel the tears forming in my eyes and attempt to turn to hide them from Carrie, but she wrapped her arms around me and began to cry herself. "At least they think you're happy! People see me and know I'm miserable and they don't even care! No one cares!" she wept, crying into my chest. I couldn't hold them back, rivers of tears stream down my face. I stroke my hands through her hair and comfort her, "Shh, that's not true! I care!" I whisper softly. I can feel her running her hands through my fur; she always did that when she was upset. We held each on that dock, our pain admitted, and watched as the sun set before us and the stars surrounded us with light. The funny thing is, even though I was so hurt with so much pent up frustration; I would never trade this memory away for all the damn gold in the world.

Next thing I know I'm standing outside my own bedroom door, dressed in my Sunday best. I reach out my hand and open the door. There she was, sitting on my bed, she looked a little annoyed, and her eyes were a bit red. She wipes her eyes as I walk in, "What do you think?" I ask, spinning so she could see my entire get up. Carrie sniffed before she answered, "You look great." She said with a fake smile on her face. I can see it now, but back then I didn't realize the pain underneath that small fake smile. "Thanks Carrie! You're the best!" I say before glancing over at the clock; 8:20. "I got to go, or else I'll be late. Thanks again for helping me pick out something to wear." I say cheerily, giving her a hug. I could feel her fingers running through my hair again, it was a strange feeling, I felt so sad and sorry for never realizing how much this hurt her, but the excitement that I felt at the time was there too. I break the hug and run out the door to get to my date, leaving Carrie behind me.

This was something I wanted to change, I wish I could stay with her, tell her how I felt about her, even if I didn't realize it at the time. But this is no second chance; I can't rewrite what's already happened. It's like being on a roller coaster, you are on a fixed track and you can't deviate from it. No matter how much you wanted to.

I pick up Penny and we walked together to a fancy restaurant downtown. We are seated; I had made reservations the minute she agreed to go out with me. The waiter comes over and we order our drinks, I got a Pepsi, she got an ice tea. "So Gumball what do want to do for college? Where do you want to go? What's going to be your major?" she asks keenly, taking a sip of her tea. I just sit there like a dope, I don't know what I want to do, I don't even know if I want to go to college! "Oh, I don't know. I haven't really given it much thought." I admit to her, she seems shocked. "Are you kidding? It's only two years away! I know exactly where I want to go and want to study." She announced in a matter of fact tone. I nervously take a sip of my Pepsi, man this isn't going well. "So what do you want to do then?" I ask her, trying to look and sound as interested as I possibly can. "Well in 2015 I'll be accepted to the University of Rutgers' medical school. By 2019 I will get an internship in the surgical division of a hospital, And by 2024 I will be a regular doctor at the hospital." She announced proudly. I sit there and think about her plan, a give a small chuckle, she notices. "What's so funny!" she asked angrily. I look up to see her staring down at me with anger in her eyes. "Nothing! It's just a very detailed plan." I say nervously. "And what's so funny about a detailed plan?" she asks, more and more furious. I sigh, it was time to go for broke, "It's just that you've planned out the next nine years of your life out. I mean where's the fun in that, where's the excitement of not knowing what's coming next?" I ask, hoping to settle this before it got out of hand. She looked stunned, like I was some sort of crazy person for even suggesting that. Before she could say anything I got up and excused myself to the bathroom.

I splash the cold water from the sink onto my face, and feel it slowly drip down my cheeks. "This is a disaster! Carrie never reacts like this when we talk." I sigh to myself. "Then get out of here! Go to her!" a voice startles me, I look behind me, seeing only a pair of legs under a stall door. "Excuse me?" I asked confused. The man on the toilet repeated himself, "Go to her! You obviously have feelings towards her." He told me. I don't know why I bothered to talk to him, or what motivated me to listen, but I continued to talk to him, "What about Penny? The girl I came here with?" I ask concerned about looking like a jerk. "What about her? You obviously don't have the same feelings about her that you do for this other girl, just leave." He told me. I think about it, he was right, God I remember this feeling I got when this happened, when I realized what my feelings really were.

"Thanks!" I shout as a run out of the restaurant. I didn't stop there either, I ran all the way to Carrie's house. By the time I got there I was exhausted and the sun had set, leaving me standing outside her house, with only the moon and a streetlight to illuminate me. I pick up some pebbles and chuck them at her window. She walks over to the window, confused and tired, then she saw me and opened up her window. "Gumball! What are you doing here? I thought you were on a date with Penny!" she asks in a whisper shout so her parents wouldn't wake up. "I left, I don't want to be with anyone but you, I was just too stupid to realize that until tonight, but I love you!" I shout loudly to her, passion filling my chest, I felt elated to get that off my chest after running all the way across town. Carrie gasps "I love you too! I've always loved you!" she shouts happily, tears of joy running down both of our faces. The moment seems to last forever. "You've got to get going! Before my parents wake up!" she warned me. I smile at her and she smiled back. Then I could hear the loud pounding of boots to wooden stairs and the light from the recently lit light bulbs from inside her house alerted Gumball to the approach of Carrie's father. I waved meekly to Carrie, feeling an odd lack of the appropriate to say goodbye, and ran away into the dark. I was elated, jumping up into the air with joy screaming "I'm in love Elmore" and getting the grumpy return of people shouting at me to shut up. I never felt lighter.

The scenery disappeared into the cool night air and was replaced by my living room once again, but this time Carrie and I sat on the couch together, talking about everything and anything. I was seated upside-down, with my head over the side of the cushion and my legs left dangling over the edge of the backrest. We were watching the shining; we had heard that it was a horror movie and that caught Carrie's attention. But it wasn't exactly to her tastes, she had never seen any other Kubrick films that I am aware of and didn't catch the little things, the insignificant facts that make all the difference, but I did. The never ending maze of the hotel trapping everyone, the eagles everywhere, the windows that shouldn't be there, and blood. It terrified me because it made me think, think of all the horrible things that I learned about in history, the terrible ensnarement that trapped them, and the simple madness of man.

"You're a real scaredy cat you know that?" Carrie remarked as I cringed when Jack plunged his axe into the man's chest. "No I'm not! This is some terrifying shit here." I rebutted, straightening myself up back into my seat next to her. "Oh yeah! Terrifying!" she scoffed sarcastically before laughing at my reaction to the movie. I turn from the movie and look at her, she was so beautiful when she laughed. I couldn't help but smile, it was just one of those moments, the one that you are sure that you'll remember forever. Our eyes connect and for a moment we stopped laughing, we stopped smiling, then we leaned slowly toward each other, our hands wrap gently around each other, and when our lips touched it was perfect. The whole world seemed to collapse around us and was replaced by a gentle vision of a peaceful universe, and a feeling like you where floating weightlessly in the cosmos.

"Making out during a horror movie? How original." Lexy commented as she carried a basket of laundry through the living room, the feeling of perfection quickly was replaced by one of embarrassment. Carrie and I blushed madly, but we didn't separate from each other. We sat closely together, not scooting away like they had done before they were a couple. We look over to Lexy, who was grinning madly at their embarrassment, and just how adorable they were. Lexy continued to and up the stairs carrying the clothes to her room, saying "Don't mind me, I'm just passing through." Before disappearing from view.

We continued to watch the movie, Carrie leaning onto me, and me holding her gently. It really was just one of those moments.

Suddenly it all faded again. "No, no!" I pleaded feudally, holding Carrie tight, not wanting the moment to fade. I closed my eyes and held them forcefully shut, grasping onto the memory. But she slipped through my fingers, I wasn't strong enough. God, I wasn't strong enough!

My eyes fly open and I gaze around the room, it wasn't the same familiar family room that he had loved for so long, but rather a small and cold dorm room, practically bare of any furniture and utterly lonely. This was my old college dorm, I remember it. I was lucky to be frank that I even was here, even though I hated every moment of it. My brother, Darwin had received a full ride to college on a swimming scholarship at Michigan, Lexy and Anais were both accepted to Harvard on scholarship as well, that left my mother just enough money to send me to school. I was studying aeronautic engineering at Virginia tech, seems like all my spare time working on engines in the garage paid off. Carrie had been accepted to the university of Cincinnati for medical school, I always thought it was ironic how a ghost wanted to save lives, but I didn't much feel like laughing now. I felt totally alone in the world, far away from everyone I loved, and yet close enough to keep a faint hope of seeing them. I think that's what made me the most upset, the hope, I knew that it was unlikely but the hope kept the wound fresh in my mind.

"I don't want to be here, not here. J.A.N.E.! You skipped too far! J.A.N.E? Hello?!" I scream to the ceiling, to the heavens themselves. Suddenly the room started to skip and go odd shades of color, like a scratching disk. "J.A.N.E. what's going on? What's happening?!" I plead for an answer, frightened at what was happening.

For a moment I was at my graduation, dressed in black robes and with my degree in my hands. Before I can say or do anything I was in a room, wearing a good suit, while two other men eyeballed me from across a desk. Next I was in a suit and tie and sitting in a chair on a talk show as the host asked me how it felt to be the first man to go back to the space station to prepare it for future use. Then it all skipped ahead to me walking to the shuttle in full suit, I turn to the crowd and see Carrie standing there next to my family waving with a strange mixture of love, excitement, and sadness all clearly visible on her face. I open my mouth to shout my love for her, but she faded away with all the others and was replaced by the soul crushing loneliness of the space station, the place I have so desperately wished to escape.

I look from my lofty seat among the heavens as small angry flashes of light erupted all over the world, so much light, so much talk on the radios, then nothing. Silence over took the communications system, eerie and unending, and the lights of the great cities of Earth are left dark. No one home, no one left. The pain, the incredible, soul crushing, debilitating pain of watching the entire world, my whole world lying silent and dead was too much. I wept loudly and with great emotion, screaming "J.A.N.E.! Wake me up!" In an almost begging tone. _'This feeling, it must be worse than death. There is no peace, no rest, just pain and loneliness that last forever.' _Is the thought that ran through my mind, taunting me with its emotionless and uncaring tone. I grab my hair and scream and scream until my voice went horse, but no matter how long and how long I wept no one, in the entire universe, could hear me.

It all faded away again, but this time I was glad. I hated this memory, the feelings, the horrible pain, the terrible silence that surrounded me. I wasn't sure what would come next, but it had to be better than this.

All around me was endless white stone that continued on forever into the distance. As I look up into the sky I see a continual and even white cloud that dulled the light from what must have been the sun. As I look of into the distance I notice that there is no horizon that the two layers of white simply met and made a strange and far off unity.

"Where am I?" I wondered out loud, looking around not seeing anyone or anything in the far of distance. "You're back." A familiar voice speaks calmly from behind. "Carrie!" I whisper in disbelief before turning to see the ghostly figure from my dreams standing before me once again. I embrace her crying happily as I hug her close.

Suddenly before my very eyes a huge city grew from the ground all around us. Skyscrapers of steel and cement rose to great heights as they blocked out the sun and sent us into darkness. Cobble stone streets formed under our feet and expanded onwards in many directions to weave a network across the city. People began to appear walking the streets, all looking down to devices and screens as they walked, illuminating their featureless emotionless faces. "What the Hell?" I whisper in disbelief at the sight before me.

BEEEP BEEEP BEEEP! "Danger! Danger! Danger!" J.A.N.E. shouted as the pod's calibrations went haywire. ""Subject's consciousness is in its subconscious sector of his brain." Her voice spoke out of protocol, even though no one could hear her warnings.

The echoing of the familiar computerized voice in the distance could be faintly heard, like a far off siren. But what was happening before my eyes was taking precedence, Carrie stood infront of me, she looked just the way I pictured her all that time in space.

"Well come on!" she said cheerfully as she grabbed my hand and lead me down the street. My feet made loud echoes as they made contact with the uneven stones of the street. To my sudden realization, I noticed that my footsteps were the only ones to create noise, all the other expressionless people simply made no sound as each foot landed on the street. The halos of light from the streetlights gave me the only light for me to see, everyone else walked blindly without looking up, like they didn't need to see.

Just as my eyes grew accustomed to the darkness, the sudden, far off, flash of a bright neon light pierced my eyes; its illumination seemed to split the night. In its naked light I saw ten thousand people, maybe more, not talking. As Carrie lead me past the people I saw them writing stories and songs, beautiful and imaginative, but as I passed they looked up to me from their seated places on the ground. The place where their mouth was meant to be was nothing more than an awkward stretch of skin. The sight sent shivers running down my spine. "Carrie, what are these people? Who are they? Why don't they have mouths?" I asked, almost afraid of the answer. "They dare not disturb the sound of silence." She spoke matter-of-factly.

Their lonely eyes eventual returned to their work as we walked closer and closer to the large neon sign. Then we were close enough for me to read the sign's message, 'Silence, like a cancer, grows.' As soon as I saw this terrible message, Carrie tugged me away from it and lead me down a dark and dirty alleyway, at the end was a tall spiraling staircase that seemed to reach for the sky. As we approached it and Carrie grasped the golden rungs I found the words that, since the sign, had eluded me. "Carrie, what was that sign?" I ask, nervous once more for the terrible answer that was sure to follow. "It's the neon god they made. Those people bow and pray to it as they create their art, but they never share it." She explained as Gumball climbed the first stair of the staircase.

The two climbed up the staircase for what seemed like hours, climbing higher and higher into the sky. "Carrie, where are you taking me?" I ask curiously. At that moment I saw the end of the staircase, a simple navy blue door.

Carrie reached for the knob and opened it slowly. On the other side was a room, almost like a dark hotel room, a single large bed rested, facing windows that showed the stars and moon in incredible beauty, almost like seeing them for the first time. Adjacent to the windows was a door, but Carrie lead me to the bed and she climbed up onto it and lay down. "Well don't keep me waiting." She said with a smirk, patting the bed gently. I climbed on and laid next to her on the bed, gazing towards her beautiful face.

"Oxygen to 0%! Repeat, oxygen to 0%" the electronically calm voice of J.A.N.E alerted no one.

"Beautiful, aren't they?" she asked as she gazed longingly out the window towards the stars, drowning out the sound of J.A.N.E.. "Not as beautiful as you." I whispered caringly, kissing her lightly on the lips. The light that washed over our bodies from the windows illuminated her face as she blushed a little and smiled, but the smile was not long lived as it vanished quickly from her face. "Does it bother you that I'm not real?" she asked sadly, catching me by surprise. "No, it doesn't." I answered after a moment of pause.

Slowly it felt harder and harder to fill my lungs with air, like a heavy object had been placed on my chest. "Why not" Carrie asked sadly, as though she would had preferred the other answer. "Because I love you, and I don't want to be without you, never again." I choked out. I felt light headed, out of breath, a panic slowly seeping over me, Carrie smiled softly, lovingly towards me.

Then it all stopped. For a single moment everything paused, the stars didn't twinkle, Carrie's hair didn't sway from wind, and I was unable to move a single muscle if I wanted too.

Then it all came back, the twinkle, the wind, I could breathe again, more easily than ever before. Carrie smiled towards me. "I love you gumball." She spoke gently, kissing me lovingly. The kiss felt fantastic, like it was my first all over again. Once she broke off the kiss she looked over to the door by the windows. I got up slowly and we walked over together. I reached out and grasped the handle lightly, before turning to look at her, asking without speaking. She nodded with a smile, I turned back to the door, scared and excited beyond explanation or reason. I reached over with my free hand and held Carrie's in my own, and then I opened the door. Light flowed into the room, as the incredible and unexplainable warmth enveloped our bodies. I looked ahead, and for the first time in a long time, I felt hope.

**Thank you for reading this story. To everyone who loves this archive and doesn't want to see it die, wright! There are frankly far too many review stories on this archive compared to actual stories. So please, don't get wrapped up in the authors that are leaving, in my mind they left a long time ago. So please, let's get back to the writing.**

**P.S. extra points to anyone who can tell me what the spaceship represents.**

**-The Delhision**


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